{"id":90257,"date":"2025-07-25T02:48:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-25T02:48:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/90257\/"},"modified":"2025-07-25T02:48:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-25T02:48:10","slug":"portland-fire-fuels-hype-with-fireside-chat-as-momentum-continues-to-blaze","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/90257\/","title":{"rendered":"Portland Fire fuels hype with ‘Fireside Chat’ as momentum continues to blaze"},"content":{"rendered":"

PORTLAND, Ore. \u2014 Following the electric atmosphere of the Portland Fire launch party, the city’s new WNBA team continued its momentum with a powerful WNBA Fireside Chat\u2014one of the signature events during Epicenter Week<\/a>, a city-wide celebration of women\u2019s sports.<\/p>\n

The conversation brought together key figures shaping the Fire’s future, including Portland Fire Team President Clare Hamill, RAJ Sports Co-Founder Lisa Bhathal Merage, WNBA All-Star and international champion Michelle Snow, and WNBA Champion and former WNBPA President Olympia Scott.<\/p>\n

The event offered a behind-the-scenes look at the vision and strategy behind bringing the WNBA back to Portland\u2014and the deeper meaning behind it. It also doubled as a platform to engage directly with the community on what the return of professional women\u2019s basketball truly represents for the region.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all have a vision to make Portland the epicenter of women\u2019s sports,\u201d said Fire President Clare Hamill. \u201cWe have a big opportunity with the Fire. We can do things in Portland that no other franchise can do.\u201d<\/p>\n

That sentiment was echoed by Lisa Bhathal Merage, Co-Founder of RAJ Sports, who made her first public comments since the official team name and identity were unveiled. \u201cIt\u2019s what we are doing in women\u2019s sports to put Portland on the map globally,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s not about us, it\u2019s about the community\u2014it\u2019s about Portland.\u201d<\/p>\n

The team\u2019s mission is clear: to turn Portland into a global capital for women\u2019s sports. Central to that goal is a massive $150 million training facility set to be built west of the city. The facility marks the first joint investment between two major women\u2019s sports leagues and serves as a bold statement about the Fire\u2019s long-term vision\u2014not just for basketball, but for the broader ecosystem of women\u2019s athletics.<\/p>\n

Former WNBA players also took the stage to reflect on what makes Portland uniquely suited to host a WNBA team again.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Portland fans are different in the fact that they know how to do this,\u201d said Michelle Snow. \u201cThey know how to create those environments that are difficult to play in.\u201d<\/p>\n

That fanbase\u2014and its passion\u2014is already showing. The Fire have collected over 12,500 ticket deposits, a staggering figure that places Portland on pace to surpass the newly launched Golden State Valkyries in early support.<\/p>\n

Another powerful advantage the Fire hold? The depth of WNBA experience already embedded in the local community. More than 60 former WNBA players live in Oregon, many of whom are part of the WIN (Women In Nike) program\u2014a pipeline created to support former athletes in post-playing careers at Nike. That initiative was spearheaded by none other than Clare Hamill.<\/p>\n

The Fireside Chat was more than a panel\u2014it was a statement. A statement that Portland is not just ready for the WNBA again, but ready to set the new standard.<\/p>\n

As Epicenter Week continues, one thing is clear: the fire is lit in Portland\u2014and it\u2019s not going out anytime soon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PORTLAND, Ore. \u2014 Following the electric atmosphere of the Portland Fire launch party, the city’s new WNBA team…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":90258,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[60095,718,60091,60096,2983,60094,60092,60093,62,60097,51083,67,132,68,232,1707],"class_list":{"0":"post-90257","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wnba","8":"tag-clare-hamill","9":"tag-community","10":"tag-epicenter-womens-global-sports-summit","11":"tag-fireside-chat","12":"tag-nike","13":"tag-portland-fire","14":"tag-portland-thorns","15":"tag-raj-sports","16":"tag-sports","17":"tag-ticket-deposits","18":"tag-training-facility","19":"tag-united-states","20":"tag-unitedstates","21":"tag-us","22":"tag-wnba","23":"tag-womens-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114911595980521181","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90257"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90257\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/90258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}